The invention relates to clips that retain cables, such as coaxial cables, against a mounting surface by means of a nail or similar fastener.
Clips for retaining cables against a mounting surface are known in the art. Typically such clips are used to retain TV or telephone cables against a mounting surface such as a floor, a wall, or a roof surface. The clip is generally attached by driving a nail or similar fastener through a hole in the clip and then into the mounting surface.
In the prior art, such clips are most frequently made from plastic using an injection molding process. Injection molding is, at least initially, a relatively expensive process to implement because molds are very expensive, often costing $20,000 to $30,000, and sometimes even more. Cables come in a variety of sizes and shapes, and a manufacturer who wishes to produce a complete line of clips for holding a variety of cable sizes may have to purchase ten or more expensive molds.
Frequently the clips are used on external walls or roofs, thereby exposing the clips to radiation from the sun and wide variations in temperature. Because injection molded clips are made of plastic, they are subject to depolymerization and other types of structural degradation. Exposure to sunlight and elevated temperatures can accelerate the degradation of the plastic clips.
The injection molded plastic clips suffer from further disadvantages. The hole for the mounting nail is manufactured during the molding process and the clips are commonly sold with a nail pre-inserted into the hole. During cable installation, the nail is hammered part way through the clip and into the mounting surface. Because the clip is plastic, great care must be exercised while hammering. Should the installer hammer the nail too hard or accidentally strike the clip instead of the nail head, the plastic clip may fracture and the cable within the clip may be damaged from the hammer's blow. In some instances the cable may have been damaged from the hammer's blow but will appear to be undamaged, until some later date when the TV or telephone equipment is connected to the cable and found not to work properly. The cable installer must then return to the job site, determine the source of the problem and, upon locating the source, replace the cable that was damaged during installation.
Another type of prior art cable clip is fabricated from a strip of bent metal shaped somewhat like the number 5. The cable is retained in the rounded portion of the 5 and the nail is driven diagonally through the top of the 5, through the vertical portion of the 5 and into the mounting surface. Holes are formed in the metal clip during fabrication so the nail can be pre-inserted into the nail holes in the clip prior to installation. Because the metal clip is relatively flimsy, careless hammering can bend the clip out of shape, with resultant damage to the cable.